Alain Vigneault had answered one question at his pre-game availability when he looked over at the author of Cheapseats and broke into a grin.

“You know,” said the Rangers’ coach, “every time I see you it reminds me how older we’re getting, eh? Jesus. Just looking at the both of us, we started when we were kids, back at the (Bob) Guertin.”

A couple of minutes later, Dan Rosen from NHL.com was still chuckling.

“I didn’t see a mirror up there,” he said. “He was looking at you.”

Thanks, Dan.

One of the many conversations I remember having with Vigneault when he coached the Hull Olympiques (and we were both in our 20s) was during a playoff series with the Laval Titan, a team that boasted hooligans Gino Odjick (280 PIMs) and Sandy McCarthy (269 PIMs).

“I have no problem when they put those guys on the ice,” said Al. “It’s like they’re two men short.” Almost 30 years later, Vigneault also expressed no concerns about the impact Chris Neil might provide the Senators in Game 5.

“I don’t control their lineup,” he said two hours before the opening faceoff. “I worry about our guys, our preparation and our work. I coach one team, and that’s the Rangers.”

Neil did suit up, as Senators coach Guy Boucher did the right thing in response to Tanner Glass’ manhandling of Kyle Turris late in Game 4.

And while he played only five shifts and 2:26 of just his second game since Feb. 26, he did the opposite of leaving the Senators short-handed. He made them bigger, gave them more strength and courage. He also lit up the fans.

The 19,082 in attendance gave Neil a standing roar when he stepped on the ice for his first shift at the 2:09 mark of the opening period, then went on to turn in their loudest performance of the post-season.

They also cheered wildly for Neil when he stepped out of the box after serving two and a 10 for pounding Tanner Glass after the Rangers tough-guy demolished Dion Phaneuf.

Now, Glass was getting a penalty on the play for interference, so Neil wiped out what would have been a Senators power play. But nobody on the home team minded one a bit, either.

Clarke MacArthur skated over to the penalty box to tap the glass in approval of Neil’s actions. Erik Karlsson skated by and gave Neil a wink. And as Neil headed back over to the bench after doing his time, teammates clapped their sticks on the ice.

“He was massive,” said Turris, who turned in what Boucher called an “inspiring” performance, not just for the OT winner but with an out-of-character team-leading nine hits. “He played a big part in our morale tonight and our intensity. Just him being out there is a big presence, a big impression on all of us.

“That’s the best penalty I’ve seen taken in a long time,” Turris added of Neil’s attack on Glass. “We’ll take that any day. It gives us such a boost. It gets the crowd going.

“He might not have played much tonight, but he might have been our most important player.”

Derick Brassard also noted the impact of Neil.

“(Friday) night I got an email and knew he was in the lineup, (and) I was just excited right away,” said Brassard. “The guy has been working really hard for the past two months. I’ve never seen a guy so passionate about the game. I was just excited for that moment.

“Glass has been a difference-maker for their team. He’s been playing some really good hockey. Sometimes, it’s good to remind him someone is around. We were all OK for Neiler to (take the penalty). It shows a lot of character.”

Neil had a welt under his eye and his shoulder taped up when he emerged from the back room following the game to chat with a couple of straggling reporters. It was clear he was moved by the reception he received from the crowd.

“It was awesome,” said Neil. “Our fans are awesome here. Over the years, I’ve had a great bond with the fans. Obviously, I’m not known as a goal scorer … they appreciate the hard work and what I do for my teammates. It doesn’t go unnoticed.”

IN THE CREASE: Craig Anderson should have been able to glove the Nick Holden shot that gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead. Somehow, he was also beaten by another sideboards attempt from Oscar Lindberg, who fired a sharp angle shot that managed to sneak by Anderson and hit the far post. But Anderson also had the crowd chanting his name when Chris Kreider broke in alone following an Erik Karlsson turnover at the blue-line … Anderson also made a big glove save off Mika Zibanejad with less that five seconds to go in the second period. So, see, he still does know how to catch the puck … Henrik Lundqvist isn’t the best puckhandling goalie in the league either, by evidence of his giveaway to Zack Smith on Mark Stone’s goal …

BETWEEN PERIODS: Neil invited Glass to drop the gloves on a couple of occasions, but he was refused, quite likely on orders from Vigneault. According to dropyourgloves.com , Neil and Glass had three fights before: Jan. 22, 2008 (Neil win), Dec. 8, 2008 (Neil win), April 13. 2014 (draw).

POINT TO POINT: While Fredrik Claesson turned in a solid performance as a replacement for Ben Harpur, the Senators clearly miss Mark Borowiecki, who is dealing with a leg injury. “If he was available, he’d be 100 per cent in, that’s for sure,” said Boucher. “He’s definitely one guy that’s given us a lot of our good this year. We’re a step-up team, and he’s done that terrifically this year. He’s not there now. He won’t be in the lineup in the next days. He’s not available.”

THINGS I THINK I THUNK: Not many defencemen want to throw themselves in front of the speeding 230-pound train Kreider can be. Whatever Erik Karlsson was shot up with that enabled him to play, I want some … When the agent for Jean-Gabriel Pageau is negotiating a new deal for the soon-to-be restricted free agent, he’ll probably point out not just the four-goal effort in Game 2 but also that his client, one of the team’s top penalty killers, was moved to the first power-play unit Saturday in the Senators’ biggest game of the season.

BY THE NUMBERS: Just one more reason that Turris was the game’s first star — he led all players with a 15-8 record in the faceoff circles … After Turris’ nine hits, the next-highest Senators in that category were Claesson and Marc Methot, who had four each.

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